Dearborn Heights Man Honored With Carnegie Hero Medal

PITTSBURGH (WWJ/AP) – A 75-year-old man from Michigan who rescued a 10-year-old girl from a pit bull and a Rhode Island man who rescued an elderly woman from a submerged car are among 18 winners of Carnegie medals for heroism.

The Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund Commission was announcing the honors Wednesday for people who risked their lives while saving or attempting to save the lives of others from assault, drowning, fire or other potential tragedy.

Gerald A. LaMonica, a retired merchandiser from Dearborn Heights, was walking in a residential neighborhood when he saw an adult pit bull attack Madison P. Boljesic. He ran across the street and yelled at the dog, which released the girl and charged him. LaMonica kicked the dog, which then bit him before fleeing.

LaMonica and Boljesic were treated at a hospital for their bite wounds.

Carnegie medalists, or their heirs, receive financial grants. More than $33.9 million has been awarded to 9,495 honorees since the fund’s inception in 1904. New recipients are announced four times a year.

Steel baron Andrew Carnegie was inspired to start the fund after hearing rescue stories from a mine disaster that killed 181 people.